Elite athletes really are different from you and me. Or, at least their gut microbes are.

Scientists who analyzed stool samples of 15 runners a week before and after they competed in the 2015 Boston Marathon found unusually high levels of one particular microbe compared to 10 non-athletes. Levels of the microbe in question, Veillonella, spiked after an intense workout and bloomed even more after the marathon.

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That was a lightbulb moment for the scientists because the bacterium is known for breaking down and eating lactate, a metabolite even ordinary runners equate with fatigue.  

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